Summary

Discovery

On the back of a new NIN tour shirt, fans noticed that certain letters were highlighted. These highlighted letters form the phrase "I AM TRYING TO BELIEVE." Assuming that this was not mere coincidence, they found that www.iamtryingtobelieve.com is an actual website.

After analyzing the page, certain keywords and phrases piqued fan's interest and more websites relating to the World of Year Zero were uncovered. The information on these websites illustrated a dystopic world of the future, in which a totalitarian government has assumed control of the United States.

Year Zero Calendar

In Year Zero, the calendar has been altered from the traditional BCE-AD structure. The years following Year Zero are denotated as "0000". When referring to the past, the years are subtracted from the date of the calendrical reconstruction. Example: Thirteen years prior to 0000 is listed as "-13 BA," or "Born Again". It is now proven that Year Zero itself is actually the year 2022, as indicated by the image located here Thus the year 2007 is actually -15 BA.

Year Zero: The Story

The websites suggest that in Year Zero, there is no longer a distinct separation of Church and State. Perhaps due to an onslaught of bioterrorism attacks, the government has assumed totalitarian control and used the threat of future terrorist attacks to justify their absolute power.

Church of Plano

The Church of Plano is a sola scriptura organization that threatens "Whoever Resists the Authority Resists God" to legitimize and support the current Administration. Not much is known about the Church, but it has taken a special interest in The Presence and is sponsoring a "Neighborhood Cleansing Program" so members can "put their faith into action".

105th Airborne Crusaders

Alongside the Church, the 105th Airborne Crusaders, a unit of soldiers whose purpose is to protect and police "God's green Earth" is further propagating the government's political and religious control of the nation. This faith-based squadron was created in -13 BA as a response to the bioterrorist attacks in Los Angeles. The 105th was formed by "those men and women who kept a personal relationship with our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ and allowed the Holy Ghost to guide their rifles true."

Cedocore

Cedocore is a large pharmaceutical company that is the creator of Parepin
and other drugs such as Anphylox, Amproprax, Avoprem, Niraderm, Phenylpro, Prozira, Sariferm, Xarylax, Zalaflo and Zynacor.

Drugs

Parepin

In order to ostensibly protect the public from future bioterrorist attacks, the government developed a drug called Parepin . Parepin, found on the first discovered site I Am Trying To Believe, is a drug added to the water system and drinking supply of the general public. Its initial purpose allegedly is to combat all disease, though there is no scientific proof to justify this claim. The Year Zero Administration added it to the drinking supply to both combat disease and reduce the populace's susceptibility to bioterrorist attacks, however, many citizens are reluctant to believe this. Discontinued use of the drug has provided citizens with an increase in their clarity of thought, which the government claims is mere paranoia.

Parepin seems to be an ACTH blocker. ACTH is a "fight or flight" hormone which is released from the hypothalamus whenever danger threatens. When secreted, ACTH stimulates the synthesis of the epinephrine (adrenaline) precursors dopa and norepinephrine. Second, ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex to release cortisol. [1] Cortisol is a corticosteroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex that is involved in the response to stress; it increases blood pressure, blood sugar levels, may cause infertility in women, and suppresses the immune system. [2]

Opal

Opal is a new drug distributed commonly in liquid form. It is supposedly "the new cocaine" as it is cheaper to distribute and more widely available. The Opal trade has replaced much of the Colombian cocaine trade, and according to many underground news sources, this drug's main distribution source is America itself. The drug can either be injected or dropped into the eye, causing the whites of the eyes to turn black. Opal is said to mimic a religious experience for many people. It has been suggested that Opal is either chemically related to Parepin, or is Parepin in its "street" form. Opal can be seen in the "Survivalism" video at 2:13 as two of the people in the apartment complex are seen using the drug through the surveillance camera. According to a secret directory on the future pharmaceutical company Cedocore's Web site, Opal, known as "Hycephamitamyn-η" was developed by a German company and manufactured by Cedocore itself, lending credence to the Opal-Parepin connection.

Blue pills: "die-agra"

One of two soldier performance-enhancing drugs referred to on Be the Hammer. These are soldier boosts that counter the effects of parepin, allowing soldiers to act aggressively. The effects are temporary.

Red pills: "blisters"

Also from Be the Hammer. Stronger, nastier soldier boosts that "erase the line between killing and fucking." Some of the effects are permanent.

Users of the pills were not told they couldn't return home until after they had first taken them.

Copper

This appears to be a secret, government-only vaccine for Red Horse, an Ebola-like virus described in more detail at Red Horse Vector. According to the 0 pages at Another Version Of The Truth, Copper has some unfortunate side-effects, including paranoia, skin sensitivity, and aversion to bright light. Worse, withdrawals are fatal.

A person who uses Copper smells like the metal copper, and has orange secretions.

Terrorism

In the world of Year Zero, the fear of terrorism seems to be the dominant factor shaping American society, with terrorism redefined to include disagreement with the government. At The Price of Treason, a site devoted to warning dissenters away from "seditious" activity, dissent is directly correlated with treason and "the terrorist events of the past twenty-one years..."

Star Chamber

According to U.S. Wiretap, Star Chamber was an underground club that participated in anti-government activity which suffered an attack from the Red Horse virus. Initially, it was apparently targeted by terrorists. However, according to the "zero pages" on AVOTT, it could've been some kind of inside job. A transcript of an interview with a police officer on the scene describes a government agent leaving the place on the aftermath of the attack, with the orange secretions (tears, in this case) and smell corresponding to use of Copper.

The Presence

The Presence is represented as a ghostly arm reaching down from the sky. It was initially thought to be an Opal or Parepin-related hallucination, but this was debunked by people who claim to have seen or been affected by The Presence, but who are not under the effects of Opal or Parepin. It has been suggested, however, that use of Opal or Parepin may intensify or increase the frequency of these encounters. People who have been affected by The Presence have described feelings of intense fear, insignificance, astonishment, and forgetfulness. Whether the Presence is government related or not is disputed. A key note to the information regarding the Presence is that there are pictures documenting the image of the presence. This lends credence to the theory that the Presence is a corporeal entity.

Resistance

There is a significant resistance faction within society Another Version of the Truth (website), seemingly split between those who would promote violent resistance to provoke radical change, and those who would use peaceful means. Members of the resistance fear that the Parepin has rendered society complacent and hence unable to effect change. Their mission is to awaken society to the dangerous atmosphere of Year Zero, in which basic freedoms are repressed and objection to the Administration's control is not tolerated.

Just a general suggestion for perusing the Year Zero websites; when reading the text, highlight it with your cursor and you can then read it clearly without any of the distortions or discolorations.

Also try pressing your 'Tab' key on the keyboard to reveal any hidden links within a Year Zero related webpage.

If you are using Firefox you can right click on the page and select "View Page Info". Select the "Links" tab to see the name, address, and type of all links on the page.